Starting with war resistance. Yesterday, US war resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed that he and his family must leave Canada by September 23rd. He and his wife Nga Nguyen went with their son Liam to Canada and Jeremy became the first US war resister in Canada to publicly seek safe harbor. July 21st Jeremy and Nga added daughter Meghan to their family. Ian Austen contributes a paragraph for today's New York Times. The Los Angeles Times also reduces it to World Briefing. Utah's Daily Herald includes it in briefings as does Tulsa World. Radio Netherlands files a brief as well. All Headline News joins the brief squad while BBC teases out a brief with padding but Canwest News Services settles for a brief. Michael Futch (Fayetteville Observer) speaks with Jeremy who explains, "I don't regret what we've done. I've had the opportunity to speak out against the war. No offense to the soldiers over there -- I have respect for them as soldiers -- but it was a bogus war based on false pretenses . . . and I'm happy to have not taken part in it." Don Jorgensen (South Dakota's KELOLAND TV) notes that Jeremy is "a graduate from Rapid City Stevens High School" in South Dakota and that Jeremy told the KEOLAND News that he expects if he is forced out of Canada he will be sentenced to prison. Sindh Today quotes him stating, "We're disappointed. Life goes on and we'll make the most of it wherever we end up." Brett Clarkson (Edmonton Sun) quotes Jeremy stating, "Iraq was an unjust war based on false pretences, and every soldier who refused to fight probably saved a lot of lives." Hinzman was outside the Canada Border Services Agency in Toronto and Jessica McDiarmid (Canadian Press) continues, "The 29-year-old was stoic as he walked out, holding the glass door open for his son Liam, 6, and his wife Nga Nguyen, who cradled a newborn daughter in her arms." CBC notes, "Federal NDP citizenship and immigration critic Olivia Chow, who put forward the June motion, called Wednesday's decision "mean-spirited," and called on Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley to halt the deportation of Hinzman and other war resisters immediately." The War Resisters Support Campaign's Dale Landry ("himself a deserter of the U.S. Air Force") tells Liam Lahey (Inside Toronto), "We're going to try everything we can do legally to keep him in the country. If Jeremy is sent back, his wife is left as a single mom raising two small children and that's not an easy thing to do while he's in jail for God knows how long." Meghan is a Canadian citizen and before the Canadian government moves further, they might want to check their own policies regarding the parents of Canadian citizens.

Reuters reports Alyssa Manning (Jeremy's attorney) is filing "a new appeal in Canada's Federal Court" and arguing that the ruling/order "did not take into account the effect on his family if he ended up in prison". Iraq Veterans Against the War issued this statement:

US Iraq War resister Jeremy Hinzman was informed on August 13th that his application to stay in Canada has been rejected. Jeremy served a tour in Afghanistan in a non-combat role after applying for conscientious objector status. When his unit, the 82nd Airborne Division, was to be deployed to Iraq Jeremy and his family decided to come to Canada. Jeremy is the first U.S. war resister to apply for refuge in Canada. He has been ordered to be deported by September 23rd. Jeremy is in Canada with his wife Nga Nuyen, and their two young children.

The decision to deport Hinzman comes just two months after the Canadian Parliament passed a motion calling on the government to allow US war resisters to apply for Permanent Resident status in Canada.

To support Jeremy, call or email Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and ask her to intervene in this case. Phone: 613.996.4974 email: finley.d@parl.gc.ca.

Jeremy Hinzman and other war resisters in Canada need support and to pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do."

Turning to the US presidential race. As they prepare to rock Denver, the Ralph Nader - Matt Gonzalez campaign opened up their Denver headquarters today. The office is located in Suite 111 on 1155 Sherman Street, a tree-lined street whose intersection with East 12th Avenue makes it very accessible becuase East 12th is a bus route. The office is wheel chair accessible. Jess spoke with Junue Millan this afternoon about the opening and the news confernce which was attended by at least five media people including Univision. The office was "specifically created" for the Super Rally that will be held in Denver (at the Magness Arena) on August 27th. They are expecting between 5,000 and 7,000 people to attend and are currently working on a website just for the Denver office.

The Denver event will take place as the Democratic Party stages there convention and there is a great deal of excitement for the Super Rally and volunteers are needed to help with fliers and getting the word out. Those interested in assisting can e-mail Junue Millan at junue@votenader.org as well as call the office (303) 832-2509 or walk in. They intend to be open from nine in the morning until nine in the evening Monday through Friday as they work to pull together this large project. Both Ralph and Matt will be speaking at the event and, as the event gets closer, they will begin announcing some of the guest speakers they've already confirmed. Artist, activist and rocker Jello Biafra is among those who will be participating.

The Super Rally in Denver (September 4th, a Nader Super Rally will be held at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, during the GOP convention) will start at seven o'clock p.m and will PUT ON THE TABLE the issues that the two major parties refuse to address -- the Iraq War, single-payer universal health care, corporate crime, impeachment and more. It will also challenge the two-party duopoly by insisting that the presidential debates be opened. As Kat noted last night, " I really find it offensive that Ralph Nader, Bob Barr and Cynthia McKinney (or Chuck Baldwin for that matter) have to fight to get into the debates. They are presidential candidates and should be in the debates. What are the Democrats and Republicans so scared of? Are their candidates so weak that they can't hold their own against Ralph, Bob, Cynthia and Chuck? Do John McCain and Barack Obama get the night sweats just thinking about being on stage with the other candidates? In a real democracy, debates would be open to all on the ballots. This nonsense that you have to meet X% would be called out. It's not a popularity contest. It's supposed to be a race for the presidency."

Neal Conan: Back in February Ralph Nader announced that he was running for president as an independent candidate. The longtime consumer advocate's third consecutive run for the White House. If you'd like to talk with him about his campaign, why he's running, our phone number is 800-989-8255, e-mail again is talk@npr.org and, of course, political junkie Ken Rudin is with us, he's NPR's political editor and you can read his political junkie column at nrp.org. And, Ralph Nader, nice to have you with us on the program today. Why are you running for president, remind us?

Ralph Nader: This campaign stands for a whole number of changes and redirections that are supported by a majority of the American people. We're the only ones who are standing for full Medicare for all, for a living wage, for cutting the bloated, wasteful military budgets full of so much contracting fraud that's offending tax payers. We want to cut down tax payer coherced subsidies to corporations, you know the hand outs giveaways bailouts of crooked Wall Street firms. We want to open up the presidential debates. Why are we rationing debates? We don't ration weather reports, do we?

Neil Conan: No.

Ralph Nader: Or entertainment or sports. And we want to shift the tax burden more to things that society likes the least or dislikes the most like security derivative speculation pollution, gambling, addictive industries before you first tax human labor. And we want to crack down on corporate crime, fraud and abuse. And, you know, public radio's reported that -- repeatedly stealing people's pensions, ripping off their savings, their mutal funds -- all of this has been reported and the major party candidates, McCain and Obama, are taking these issues off the table. They don't have a corporate crime crackdown, law and order, against these crooks. They don't have a decent tax reform. They don't want to open up the presidential debates. They don't want full Medicare for all which even a majority of doctors want in a recent poll and a majority of the American people giving you free choice of doctor and hospital cutting out a lot of wasteful bureacratic expenses. And they really don't have a plan to get out of Iraq and they want to expand the Afghanistan War. So we really have a very broad agenda for people to sink their teeth in and say, "What's left for us to decide as the people? Is there anything left for us to decide as these corporations have hijacked our government and control about every department and agency?" That's what we're saying to the American people: If you don't take it over, if you don't win your government back, if you don't vote for people you believe in who have a record of accomplishment and a good platform which you can see on VoteNader.org, what's left for you to decide? I mean, these two parties don't represent you in area after area. Their drum is beaten by the big corporations.

Neal Conan: Could we have some time for callers to ask some questions? 800-898-255 e-mails us talk@npr.org and let's see if we can get a caller on the line. Let's go to, this is line 6, Peter, Peter with us from Pennelton, is that right, in Oregon? Pendleton, it must be.

Peter: Hello?

Neil Conan: Yes go ahead.

Peter: Hi.

Neil Conan: Go you're on the air.

Peter: Mr. Nader?

Ralph Nader: Yes.

Peter: Hi. In 2004, I voted for John Kerry and I actually have regretted it ever since. And I really wish that I had written your name in. Of course, I don't believe that you were on the ballot in Oregon. But --

Ralph Nader: The Democrats pushed us off.

Peter: I'm sorry?

Ralph Nader: The Democrats pushed us off state ballots with frivilous litigation, partisan judges. You're right, we weren't on the ballot even though we got a lot of signatures, more than necessary.

Peter: It was pretty dirty. But this year, it seems just so easy to just get behind Barack Obama but, at the same time, there are people like me who are pretty liberal and see you as a more progressive candidate. What is one way that Barack Obama could become more progressive?

Ralph Nader: Well, he could be the Barack Obama, who knows what the score is rather than having antenna out for political advantage. He would reflect what he believes, what he said privately believes we should have full Medicare for all, he prefers the single-payer system. He certainly knows about the exploitation -- commercial and otherwise -- of the lower 100 million Americans on the income scale but he doesn't associate himself with any comprehensive reform plan there. He's taking actually more corporate interest money than John McCain as of June 30 of this year. And he wants to have a bigger military budget. His plan for getting out of Iraq according to his military adviser would leave 50,000 soldiers, American soldiers, there with all these bases. That's not really getting out of Iraq. I think he's making a strategic mistake that Mondale, Dukakis, Kerry and others have made by moving toward the Republican position on area after area, by not drawing a bright line between the two as these issues I mentioned earlier he's going to lose votes, he's not going to gain votes.

Neil Conan: And let me ask you, Senator Obama, of course, the Democratic nominee this time around, you're on the ballot in 35 states is the Democratic Party this year continuing to work to keep you off the ballots elsewhere?

Ralph Nader: No, not so far. We're going to be on about 45 state ballots. We sued the Democratic Party last November for their abusive legal process in violating our civil rights in '04 -- places like Pennsylvania. And, in answer to your question, what's keeping them from doing what they did in '04 is the state Attorney General of Pennsylvania has brought indictments against 12 Democrats, two state legislatures and 10 legislative aides for using government money, government space, government resources to get us off the ballot in 2004 in Pennsylvania and they also gave them a $188,000 tay payer bonus and this is criminal stuff. So I don't think they're going to do it again this year.

Team Nader is releasing daily audio of Ralph Nader (with Matt Gonzalez expected to participate as well). Ralph's Daily Audio is the web page and we noted "Open the Debates!" in yesterday's snapshot. Below is the transcript to Ralph's "Corporate Tax Cheats:"

A report just out by the well regarded US Government Accountability Office concludes that about two-thirds of corporations operating in the United States did not pay taxes annually from 1998 to 2005. Imagine that. Senator Byron Dorgan, the Democrat of North Dakota, called the findings "A shocking indictment of the current tax system."

He continues, "It's shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to support our country. The tax system that allows this whole sale tax avoidance is an embarrassment and unfair to hard working Americans who pay their fair share of taxes. We need to plug these tax loopholes and put these corporations back on the tax rolls."

Senator Carl Levin says, "This report makes clear that too many corporations are using tax trickery to send their profits overseas and to avoid paying their fare share in the United States." The GAO report said that 28% of large corporations paid no taxes during that period between 1998 to 2005. It's suspected that a lot of these global corporations were using transfer pricing to reduce their tax bills. This allows these multi-national corporations to transfer their goods and assets between their internal subsidiaries so they can record in the jurisdiction with low tax rates like the Bahamas.

David Cay Johnston, in his great book Perfectly Legal concluded, and I paraphrase him, he said, "These global companies have now reached a point of power and manipulation where they can decide how much taxes they're going to pay, where they're going to pay these taxes, and when they're going to pay these taxes."

That's the leading tax reporter for the New York Times, a Pulitzer Prize winner, David Cay Johnston. It's something to think about when we ponder the double standard between working people on the one hand under our tax system and those tax escapees the global corporations on the other. This is Ralph Nader.

That was released today. Yesterday's was Ralph's "Outsourcing" and it appears below:

This is Ralph Nader. You know how often these big corporate executives, when they're shipping jobs of American workers to fascist or communist dictators abroad who know how to keep their workers in their place . Do you know how often they say "Well we have to do this to keep up with the global competition"? But one thing they don't do to keep up with the global competition is to outsource themselves, outsource their own CEO jobs or their own faluting commentators and editors jobs.

Let's start with the New York Times editorial page. It would be hard to replace Maureen Dowd, no doubt. But Thomas Friedman? He of the rah-rah, pro-corporate, globalization, cheesy metaphors? Well he could easily be replaced by a hard working Indian or Chinese bi-lingual columnist at a much lower rate. And how about Wall Street? All those investment bank executives, the executives of Citigroup or Merrill Lynch. Imagine how many first rate Indian or Chinese executives could have done a much better job than Bob Rubin who helped drive the giant Citibank into the ground. I'm sure good executives from India or China could replace Rick Wagoner as CEO of General Motors at a much, much lower salary. That's the way to meet the global competition: Outsouce CEOS.

"What's good for the worker," says the CEO, "is not good for the CEO." The shareholders know better thye've got to demand outsourcing CEOS for a new fresh. energetic start for the management of their country. I'm Ralph Nader.

WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT ELLIE SMEAR SAID, "HEY, I'M ALL ABOUT BARACK. I LOVE HIM!" KIM GANDY SAID, "WHAT EVER BARACK WANTS IS FINE AND DANDY WITH ME. I'M JUST GRATEFUL THIS COUNTRY STILL LETS WOMEN VOTE. WE STILL CAN VOTE, RIGHT?" FEMINIST WIRE DAILY IS WORKING ON A BRIEF TO SELL THE SELL-OUT AS A BREAK THROUGH IN WOMEN'S LIBERATION. GRASSROOTS FEMINISTS ARE WATCHING CLOSELY AND WHISPERING THAT IT MAY BE TIME FOR SOME 'OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!' CRIES TOWARDS THE LEADERSHIP THAT REPEATEDLY STABS WOMEN IN THE BACK.

WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT, BARACK GIGGLED AND SAID, "I HATE WOMEN. SO DOES MICHELLE. IT'S SO FUNNY AFTER SHE ATTACKED HILLARY FOR BILL'S AFFAIR THAT THESE 'SWEETIES' IN THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT KEEP STICKING UP FOR ME. THEY'RE A LOT LIKE ME: NEITHER OF US HAS MUCH SELF-RESPECT."

Yet the arrival of Iraq War soldiers seeking refuge in Canada didn't sit well with officials. Army Specialist Jeremy Hinzman's case was the first to be adjudicated, after he became the first U.S. war resister ever to apply for refugee status in Canada. The Immigriation and Refugee Board denied his claim; appeals may drag on for years. While his case is pending, Canada allows him to stay in the country and provides him with a temporary work permit. The ruling from the Refugee Protection Division of CIC insists Hinzman failed to mmake a case that the Iraq War was illegal: "He has not shown that the U.S. has either as a matter of deliberate policy or official indiffernce, required or allowed its combatants to engage in widespread actions in violation of humanitarian law."

A veteran of the U.S. action in Afghanistan, Hinzman took his wife and baby to Canada when he received orders at Fort Bragg for a tour of duty in Iraq. "No matter how much I wanted to, I could not convince myself that killing someone was right," he said once he surfaced in Toronto. Hinzman had applied to be discharged as a conscientious objector, requested noncombat duties, and spent much of his time in Afghanistan performing kitchen chores. His CO application was rejected after a hearing in Afghanistan. Back in the States, when his orders for Iraq came, Hinzman felt he had only two choices: disobey tem and risk prison, or flee the country.

Prison was not an option. "I have already missed a large chunk of my young son's life and I was willing to sacrifice any more lost time with him, especially during his formative years," he said. Canada looked like a good bet, given its policies toward deserters during the Vietnam War. Hinzman expressed no regrets about his decision and is convince the Iraq War is illegal. "I object to the Iraqi war," he announced, "because it is an act of aggression with no defensive basis. It has been supported by pretenses that cannot withstand even elementary scrutiny. First, before the U.S. dropped the first bomb, it was quite evident that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Second, the Bush administration had the gall to exploit the American public's fear of terrorists by making the absurd assertion that a secular Batthist government was working with a fundamentalist terrorist group. There was nevery any intelligence to substantiate this. Third, the notion that the U.S. wants to export democracy to Iraq is laughable. Democracy is by the people, not an appointed puppet theater."

Peter Laufer's book was published in 2006 and you might think the shelves have filled up in the time since but you'd be wrong. A few war resisters have movingly told their stories in book form and you have Aimee Allison and David Solnit's wonderful Army Of None but that's really about all. Jeremy became a news topic in May 2004. May 26, 2004 was when CBS News noted, "A U.S. soldier who deserted his Iraq-bound regiment and sought asylum in Canada said the U.S. war in Iraq was illegal and he accused the United States of committing war crimes. Pfc. Jeremy Hinzman, 25, is believed to be the first U.S. soldier to apply for refugee status in Canada after refusing combat duty in Iraq." In December of 2004, Jeremy told Scott Pelley (60 Minutes II, CBS), "I was told in basic training that, if I'm given an illegal or immoral order, it is my duty to disobey it." As to the myth of 'freedom' being fought for in Iraq, Hinzman declared, "Whether a country lives under freedom or tyranny or whatever else, that's the collective responsibility of the people of that country."

The day started with Michael Futch (Fayetteville Observer) reporting that a decision was expected in Jeremy's status and that Fayetteville Quaker House director Chuck Fager was at work make signs for a planned demonstration supporting Hinzman -- "Shame, Canada, shame!" if the news was bad or "Thanks Canada! Jeremy Hinzman: Soldier of Conscience" if the news was good. Futch quotes Fager this afternoon explaining, "This is a very disappointing decision. It puts Canada more fully in complicity with an illegal and immoral war. Jeremy will probably end up back here at Fort Bragg. That's usually what happens." Futch also notes Hinzman and Nga added a daughter to their family in July, "Megan, who has Canadian citizenship."

U.S. Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman was told today that his family's application to stay in Canada has been rejected. Hinzman was told that he does not qualify under Canada's Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) program following a review by a Citizenship and Immigration department officer.

Jeremy, his wife Nga Nguyen and their son Liam were the first Iraq War resisters to come to Canada to seek sanctuary. On July 21, their second child was born in Toronto. If deported, they would be the first family sent to the U.S. to face punishment.

On July 15, the Canadian government deported U.S. war resister Robin Long who is currently awaiting court martial at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Hinzman served a tour in Afghanistan in a non-combat role after applying for conscientious objector status. When his unit, the 82 Airborne Division, was to be deployed to Iraq Hinzman and his family decided to come to Canada.

"I applied for Conscientious Objector Status in the U.S. Army because I realized that I cannot kill a fellow humna being. But my application was denied. I knew that in Iraq I would be ordered to take part in combat operations, or other actions that are against my principles," said Hinzman. "Nga and I knew Canada had welcomed many Americans like us during the Vietnam War, and we knew Canada had refused to join the invasion of Iraq."

"Sending Jeremy and his family back to the U.S., where he would face harsh punishment, would be cruel," said Lee Zaslofsky, coordinator of the War Resisters Support Campaign. "It would fly in the face of the motion adopted by the House of Commons on June 3, which called on the Harper government to stop all deportation proceedings against these conscientious objectors."

Recent Federal Court of Canada decisions in the case of U.S. war resisters Joshua Key and Corey Glass have indicated that the refugee process which failed to grant protection to the Hinzman family may have been seriously flawed.

The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on the federal government and the Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, to intervene to prevent the Hinzman family from being sent to the U.S. to be punished.

Nick Kyonka (Toronto Star) reports, "Jeremy Hinzman, 29, had filed for a pre-removal risk assessment and permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds with Citizenship and Immigration Canada in January after several prior failed attempts to gain refugee status. Today he was told that both of those applications had been rejected and he must leave the country by Sept. 23." Kyonka quotes Jeremy stating, "Obviously we're disappointed but life goes on and we'll make the most of it wherever we end up." AP quotes him stating, "I'm disappointed but I think that every soldier that has refused to fight in Iraq has done a good thing and I'm not ashamed." Meagan Fitzpatrick (Canwest News Service) adds that War Resisters Support Campaign's Michelle "Robidoux said Hinzman, who lives in Toronto with his wife and two children, plans to take a close look at the decisions before deciding how to proceed." The Canadian Press notes: "Federal NDP Citizenship and Immigration Critic Olivia Chow, who put foward the June [3rd Parliament] motion, called the decision [to expell Jeremy] 'mean spirited.' She called on Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley to hald the deporation of Hinzman and other resisters immediately."

Jeremy Hinzman and other war resisters in Canada need support and to pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do."

This is Ralph Nader. The only time when tens of millions of Americans tune in for a couple of hours and pay attention to politics is during the prime time presidential debates. For our democracy to survive, prevail and thrive, we must have an open debate about the challenges we face and the solutions that we must apply. We really don't need two-candidate debates that sound like canned interviews. We don't need debaters prepped to look like a couple of game show contestants. We don't need show business, we need serious debate. A 2000 Zogby poll showed that nearly 52% of the people wanted other candidates in the debates. In 2004, another Zogby poll showed 57% of likely voters wanted the debates opened up. A July 2008 poll by Zogby found that 44% of the public agreed that the American system is broken and cannot be repaired by the traditional two party politics and election. Another poll had 61% of the people saying both parties are failing. It's time to open up the debates to third party candidates. I'm running for president because our democracy has been the target of an accelerating hostile corporate takeover. Control of our government by large corporations results in huge corporate welfare payouts, mega-fraud by military contractors, a pay or die system of health insurance, continued man-made global climate change and a collapsing financial system being propped up by the day on the backs of the American taxpayer with no restrictions, guarantees or return on investment. This and much more has happened with the craven complicity of both major political parties and politicians in Washington. Friends, as things stand, the three debates run by the two parties through the private Commission on Presidential Debates, a corporation, will exclude critical discussion of the control of our democracy by large corporations We need honest talk in this campaign. It's time to respect the will of the American people, to expand their access to arguments and facts that address issues central to their daily lives. It's time for the American people to take control of the political system. We can begin by opening up the presidential debates. I'm Ralph Nader.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

TUESDAY NIGHT, BARACK OBAMA CALLED THESE REPORTERS TO DISCUSS HIS CAMPAIGN. SPECIFICALLY: "AM I STILL HOT?"

BARACK HAS BEEN WATCHING A LITTLE OF THE OLYMPICS AND REALLY FOLLOWING THE PRESS.

"WHO IS THIS MICHAEL PHELPS?" BARACK ASKED. "DO YOU THINK HE'S HOTTER THAN ME? I'M STILL THE PRETTIEST AMERICAN, RIGHT? IF I'M NOT, I'M GOING TO HAVE JESS JUNIOR CALL MICHAEL A RACIST AND SAY THAT HIS RECORD BREAKING WINS ARE DIVIDING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND DESTROYING UNITY. THAT MAKES HIM A RACIST, YOU KNOW?"

IN AN ATTEMPT TO SPARE PHELPS FROM BEING THROWN UNDER THE BUS, THESE REPORTERS RUSHED TO ASSURE BARACK THAT HE WAS STILL THE PRETTIEST.

Rich Droste: It's a long, long. long journey and a long and winding and road that led me to Canada. I joined the army at the age of 17 for many reasons -- mostly to escape the lifestyle I was living, the promise of education, the pursuit of something more grand than what I was living. I was homeless at the time, living in my car for the previous two years, still trying to get my own education and just maintain a working lifestyle. They provided me with so many benefits of what I now know is half-truths obviously but didn't at the time. And at the age of 17, I was able to make that one decision to give my life for the country that I barely knew anything about but you're not old to make any other adult decision in the US at that age, right? So I joined as a combat engineer time at this time, believing that there was this huge terrorist threat on our nation, believing that America could not wrong type mentality, you know, I followed CNN and Fox 'News' pretty much for my whole life and, you know, if you don't look for an outside source you're not going to find it. And if you're happy in your bubble why burst it, right? So the further I get into the military I become more educated with what's really going on all across the world and not just in Iraq or just Afghanistan but also the human trafficking and prostitution rings around military institutions across the world. The fact that we're standing up for human rights and freedom to me and seeing these things happen in Korea while I was stationed there was my first big question against the military and I basically got told to shut and try not to fix anything that your pay grade can't handle, you know. They say they don't support it if you ask them and they'll be quoted saying they don't support it but during the day there's regulations and only US soldiers and citizens can go inside these clubs and these bars that contain all this human trafficking and prostitution. All of their money for those rings are coming from soldiers' pockets. It shows that there may not be verbal support but there's definitely financial support, right? And that was my first big problem. Around my second year in the military I became a Conscientious Objector the war in Iraq because of the illegalities, the unhumane activities that are happening there. The just unusual behavior -- the way we treat men, the way we treat women.

Law is Cool: What does it mean to be a Conscientious Objector for those of us who don't know?

Rich Droste: Within the military, there's a system so if you want to be a non-combatant, this is supposed to be a legal thing. You can file this Conscientious Objector packet which states that you are against the dualities of the war that the efforts working for and then you can work as a noncombatant inside the US military such as a cook, a medic, an X-ray technician, whatever it may be, there's numerous jobs and there supposed to supply you with that. Well around a year after I filled out that paperwork, it was mysteriously lost. And I was told this with a wink from the person I was asking. So it just goes to show they weren't trying to put that much effort into helping me with this Conscientious Objector packet. Around my third year, six month, which meant I only had about six months left on my original contract, I found out I was getting stop-lossed and sent to Iraq. By this time I had already stated I was an objector and I would have no part in this war, if anything I would like to end this war -- you know what I mean -- I'm not going to fight in it. And they said you go to this war, you go jail, your only other option is to re-enlist , signing on a new contract, and get a non-combatant job, right? So those are my options. I decide through friends and people that were looking out for me honestly that had no role over what happens to me they advised me to re-enlist for a different job and I did. I thought it was a smart thing to do. So I re-enlist to be a computer networker, well a systems operator analyst, it's all computer networking, IP configuration, connecting servers, routers and such.

Rich Droste: It was -- it was mostly just maintaining networks for the generals and superiors that are going over there anyway. Which I didn't know when I signed up for the job. The reason I signed up for the job was because I thought it was a communication job. So I could communicate.

Law is Cool: But you probably wouldn't be in the front lines with something like that?

Rich Droste: Absolutely. And by my understanding, I wouldn't be participating in any combatant side of the military. Well my last week of training, I'm about to graduate this new course, and I find out that I'm going to 4th RTB which stands for Ranger Training Battalion. So not only am I training combatants, I'm training elite combatants to go fight in this war and I told them I wouldn't have any part of it. So there I got to try to fill out another Conscientious Objector packet. It's denied because I don't meet the quote-unquote "criteria." I ask them what the criteria is, they can't give me an answer. Then I go to mental health and explain my reasoning behind all this. They try to put me on sleeping aids and anti-depressants saying I'll get over it, I just need rest, and to lighten up. And I was told to "suck it up and drive on." And that was their cure-all answer for that. And then I went to a chaplain which is a preacher, a priest, and he finds your religious denomination. At this time, I was still very much agnostic which is I believe in a higher power but I think there's too much out there for the human mind to comprehend really. And I'm talking to him and he tried to explain to me that God justified this war and wouldn't harm us or call us sinners for our wrong doings to the Iraqi people -- civilian and terrorist alike because humans are humans, regardless of their decisions, right? And uh, so that's what he tried to convince me. I talked to him numerous occasions and I couldn't get anything out of him or any help. After I went up and down the chain of command and tried to get this non-combatant job and after so much so much dedication I actually went AWOL four days after my original ETS date -- so I fulfilled my original contract and I came to Canada.

Rich Droste: There we go, yeah. That's a great question and that's something I wish more potential resisters would know is when I was going through this I was looking for other instances where soldiers experienced similar grounds, same thing that happened to me, because I knew it was happening all across the military . So I looked up online. What better source, right? So I find there's all these soldiers and there's so many thousands living in the States and there was anywhere from 200 to 500 living in Canada. I found that there was about 50 that applied for refugee status in Canada. And the things that they were doing, the political aspects, the education . . . I didn't come here to hide. I came here very well knowing that I could be deported and sentenced in the United States for my 'wrong doing' and that's -- I'm fine with that. I accept that. I came here to educate the people. I came here to open people's views and even if they don't understand it, even if they disagree, at least they're not ignorant to the matter.

Today, the US military announced: "A Multi-National Force - West Marine was killed when his unit was attacked by an enemy force in Anbar Province Aug. 10." The death was in Tirkrit and two more marines were wounded. That means 12 US service members have died in Iraq so far this month. (ICCC says eleven but hasn't noted this death yet.) Reuters notes 4,139 US service members have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war (one more than ICCC's current count).

Turning to the US presidential race. To The Contrary's Bonnie Erbe (writing at US News & World Reports) notes that of the Democratic Party's proposed platform that people are saying "the Clinton camp is quite happy with the platform's including of language to the effect that Clinton placed 18 million 'cracks' in the glass ceiling (an allusion to her winning 18 million votes during the primaries)" and notes JustSayNoDeal's Diane Mantouvalos believes Barack still can't close the deal "because a large chunk of Clinton's 18 million supporters are upset that the Obama campaign has not been more gracious toward Senator Clinton and has done little to reach out to her former supporters." And possibly it also has something to do with what Erbe notes today, "More evidence of a candidate faux pas. 'O-Force One' as CBS' Allison O'Keefe describes Obama's campaign plane, contains a luxurious section for the candidate more reminiscent of an airborne corporate executive suite than a presidential candidate who has to appeal to working class American voters." It probably doesn't help that Barack's on yet another vacation -- his third since March -- and that has the Limp Noodle Women Haters ready to scream for Cokie Roberts' head. On ABC's This Week Sunday, Roberts noted (here for video) that Barack's still "tied in the polls" and yet he's on a "vacation in Hawaii" which "does not make any sense whatsoever." Limp Noodles think they're offering 'analysis' with non-pith such as "She knows Hawaii's a state!" They really are pathetic. Roberts is noting that candidates don't campaign in Hawaii. (And Barack's not campaigning there.) No presidential nominee of one of the two primaries has since Richard Nixon (in the run he lost to JFK). [Ralph Nader campaigned there last month.] That's not new and it's not news but the Limp Noodles work real hard to act like Cokie's said something crazy. Hawaii is seen as a Democratic state. It's not a place where the party thinks their presidential nominee needs to campaign (and Barack is not campaigning there). Residents in Hawaii feel differently (as they should). But Cokie's pointing out that, "He should be in Myrtle Beach and, you know, if he's going to take a vacation at this time. And I just think this is not the time to do that." Where is Myrtle Beach? South Carolina. Now why might Cokie make that statement? Hmmm. American Research Group's polling found Barack to have a 5% lead in South Carolina (plus/minus 4%) in June which is not a lead. In July? They found McCain to be at 47% to Barack's 45%. McCain had increased by 3% in their polling while Barack had dropped by 4% and undecided had increased by 1%. That's one of the better polls for Barack (of reputable pollsters, don't include the hack Zogby). Rasmussen Reports' June poll found McCain at 48% and Barack at 39% in South Carolina. Public Policy Polls survey last month found McCain at 45% and Barack at 39%. Now why might Cokie Roberts have said Barack -- if he was going to vacation -- would be better off in Myrtle Beach? You can dispute her conclusions, you just can't pretend you have no idea why she 'went there' unless you're really eager to show how uninformed you are. It really is amazing when you grasp how damn few women are even invited into the conversation in print or on TV but how, week after damn week, the little Limp Noodles manage to savage women. They do it over and over. King Limp Noodle probably exhausted himself today since he rips into Cokie, Maureen Dowd (as always) and Emily Bazelon. For those needing audio, Roberts also discussed the race on NPR. We've called out Cokie before here and will do so again. That's not the issue. The issue is the Limp Noodles who have to rip apart a woman in order to get it up. Buy Viagra, you dirty, old men. No man ever faces the same type of wrath from the Limp Noodles as does every woman. We've noted that before and they are again eager to play Bash the Bitch again. It's getting real damn old.

You should also check out Elaine later tonight. If she decides to respond to the ridiculous e-mail from a 'journalist,' it should make for interesting reading. But Queen Norman Approximately. Yeah, he was lying again. Yeah, it was embarrassing. For now, Ava and I will note, Norm was spraying the drapes today and he's never been housebroken, somebody get him to the vet already. We'll tackle that garbage Sunday. If you suffered through Queen Norman today and need some reality, check out Katiebird's post (The Confluence).

Ralph Nader: The only time when tens of millions of Americans tune in for a couple of hours and pay attention to politics is during the prime time presidential debates. For our democracy to survive, prevail and thrive, we must have an open debate about the challenges we face and the solutions that we must apply. We really don't need two-candidate debates that sound like canned interviews. We don't need debates prepped to look like a couple of game show contestants. We don't need show business, we need serious debate.

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From now until Election Day, five days a week, we will feature new, short audio recordings from Ralph.

It starts with a message on opening the debates.

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Unlike the corporate candidates who stick to a narrow message until their handlers allow them to take a half-step, Ralph expresses himself freely on issues that affect you each day.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

"IT HAS TOTALLY BUMMED OUT MY VACATION," HE TOLD THESE REPORTERS MONDAY NIGHT.

BEFORE ANY THOUGHTS THAT BARACK MIGHT ACTUALLY THINK ABOUT THE PAIN OF OTHERS COULD CREEP IN, BARACK ASKED, "HOW COULD HE DO THAT? IF HE WAS GOING TO BE ATTRACTED TO ANYONE, SHOULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN ME? WE WERE SO TIGHT DURING THE DEBATES! I THOUGHT WE HAD A CONNECTION. AREN'T I THE PRETTIEST?"

Starting with war resistance. The August 1st snapshot critiqued the dumb ass Rondi Adamson (the same morning's "Rondi Adamson Lies" did so in greater detail). Yesterday the National Lawyers Guild's James Branum takes on Rondi (and today Ithica Journal re-prints Rondi's crap). Branum, who is defending Robin Long and has defended many others resisters (and co-chairs, with Kathleen Gilberd, NLG's Military Law Task Force), makes many strong points but leaves out the most important one: During Vietnam, Canada welcome "deserters." It wasn't just "draft dodgers," Canada also welcomes "deserters." Canada did not have a draft, Canada's position was not based on a draft. Deserters were not asked, "Did you enlist or were you drafted?" It wasn't an issue. The issue was the illegal war. When Rondi shows her ignorance, it's important to call her out on that basic fact. War resisters in Canada today have been undermined repeatedly by 'voices' that refuse to acknowledge the vast number of deserters that Canada accepted during Vietnam. But not noting that very real reality, today's war resisters (and their supporters) have to make the case: "Well, during Vietnam, you welcomed draft dodgers, so you should expand that today to welcome us." The real argument is: "During Vietnam, Canada welcomed deserters and they should today since this is another illegal war the Canadian government has refused to officially sanction." With the first argument, war resisters are placed in a position of weakness where they beg for something more. In the second argument, war resisters are not asking for 'special treatment' or anything different; they're merely asking Canada to do what it did before. That is reality. Rondi is a foreigner to reality. But that's a point everyone else needs to make. That Rondi either didn't know reality or thought she could lie about it goes to the failure to stick to the facts: Canada accepted draft dodgers and deserters during Vietnam.

Branum notesThe Christian Science Monitor (which ran the oh-so-bad column August 1st) has refused to publish any of the many letters of complaint they've received. We'll emphasize the section on Robin Long (extradited from Canada) since Branum is his attorney:

First, Robin was promised by his recruiter that he would never see combat in Iraq. Robin was a fool for believing his recruiter, but I would say that it is understandable that he would believe his recruiter and understand that his recruiter is an agent of the US military and is tellilng the truth. And in basic contract law (outside of the military context), such statements could very well be interpreted as part of the contract itself, even if those statements aren't in writing.

Second, a basic tenant of contract law is that a contract isn't binding if it forces a party to engage in an immoral, unethical or illegal action. I would argue (as would Robin and millions of other people) that the Iraq war is all three of those things, and as such an enlistment contract should be invalid if it purports to force a party to participate in such a war. (of course, the enlistment "contract" isn't really a "contract," but that's another discussion. It would be fairer to say that it is an agreement to voluntarily become a slave of the state.)

Third, Robin Long left his unit and went to Canada in large part due to his conscience. Throughout history, we as a people (and I'm speaking of all North Americans and really all people of the world), have respected the idea that sometimes one must break the law if it conflicts with conscience. Dr. King, Gandhi, Thoreau, Jesus Christ, they all lived out this ideal. Contemporaries of the civilly disobedient often attack the character of those who refuse to submit to unjust laws, but the history books paint a different story.

And let's also remember that the US and other nations have long argued in favor of the Nuremberg principles, namely that obedience to the law of the state is no excuse for actions that defy international law. Surely you would agree that a deserter from the Nazi Army during WWII would be taking a righteous act? How is it different for Robin Long?

Branum's response also notes Darrell Anderson, Joshua Key and others. There are multiple sentences in it that could qualify for a "Truest" at Third this Sundy. It's a strong piece.

By mail: Make checks out to "Courage to Resist / IHC" and note "Robin Long" in the memo field. Mail to:

Courage to Resist 484 Lake Park Ave #41 Oakland CA 94610

Courage to Resist is committed to covering Robin's legal and related defense expenses. Thank you for helping make that possible.

Also: You are also welcome to contribute directly to Robin's legal expenses via his civilian lawyer James Branum. Visit girightslawyer.com, select "Pay Online via PayPal" (lower left), and in the comments field note "Robin Long". Note that this type of donation is not tax-deductible.

2. Send letters of support to Robin

Robin Long, CJC

2739 East Las Vegas

Colorado Springs, CO 80906

Robin's pre-trial confinement has been outsourced by Fort Carson military authorities to the local county jail.

Robin is allowed to receive hand-written or typed letters only. Do NOT include postage stamps, drawings, stickers, copied photos or print articles. Robin cannot receive packages of any type (with the book exception as described below).

3. Send Robin a money order for commissary items

Anything Robin gets (postage stamps, toothbrush, shirts, paper, snacks, supplements, etc.) must be ordered through the commissary. Each inmate has an account to which friends may make deposits. To do so, a money order in U.S. funds must be sent to the address above made out to "Robin Long, EPSO". The sender's name must be written on the money order.

4. Send Robin a book

Robin is allowed to receive books which are ordered online and sent directly to him at the county jail from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. These two companies know the procedure to follow for delivering books for inmates.

War resisters in Canada also need support and to pressure the Stephen Harper government to honor the House of Commons vote, Gerry Condon, War Resisters Support Campaign and Courage to Resist all encourage contacting the Diane Finley (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration -- 613.996.4974, phone; 613.996.9749, fax; e-mail finley.d@parl.gc.ca -- that's "finley.d" at "parl.gc.ca") and Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, 613.992.4211, phone; 613.941.6900, fax; e-mail pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's "pm" at "pm.gc.ca"). Courage to Resist collected more than 10,000 letters to send before the vote. Now they've started a new letter you can use online here. The War Resisters Support Campaign's petition can be found here. Long expulsion does not change the need for action and the War Resisters Support Campaign explains: "The War Resisters Support Campaign is calling on supporters across Canada to urgently continue to put pressure on the minority conservative government to immediately cease deportation proceedings against other US war resisters and to respect the will of Canadians and their elected representatives by implementing the motion adopted by Parliament on June 3rd. Please see the take action page for what you can do."

Turning to the US presidential race, Harper'sJohn R. MacArthur (at The Providence Journal) explains, "Obama spends so much time courting the rich that I'm not surprised that James Webb has removed himself from consideration for vice president. Webb is the most articulate Senate critic of America's class divide. 'The most important -- and unfortunately the least debated -- issue in politics today is our drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th Century," he wrote two years ago. Webb understands that class stratification is aggravated not only by tax and trade policy but also by public schools that serve increasingly as holding pens for students who can't afford better private or parochial education. Attendance at an elite private school or university, as Obama well knows (and his Ph.D. mother appreciated), is one of the greatest aids to upward mobility in America today, as well as the best guarantee, along with a low inheritance tax, that people of means will maintain their children in the economic status they've become accustomed to." And are you surprised? Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is in Canada. Ralph will be speaking at seven p.m at the Design Exchange on 234 Bay Street in Toronto -- admission is free but donations are welcome and An Unreasonable Man will be shown.